Bibles in turn to the book of
Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6. Let's ask
our Lord's blessing. Our Father, it's so good to be able to call upon You.
We thank You for a heart that would want to call. We thank
You for a knowledge that we can approach You to enter into the
very throne of grace, the heavenly holy of holies. that by our blessed High Priest we can come before you boldly. Lord, help us tonight. Teach
us according to your mercy. Cause these Scriptures to be
alive to us by the Holy Spirit. For it is in Christ's name we
pray, Amen. had desired the Hebrews in verse
12 of this chapter, chapter 6, that
you be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and
patience inherit the promises. Man by nature thinks that by
making just a simple outward profession of faith,
just the words, just the words that he speaks. He thinks that
in that outward profession that he has then done what is absolutely
required to inherit the promises of God. Men think that there's
power strictly in their mouth. But a life that is void of consistency,
consistency in their walk, a life that does not line up with what
a man says he believes. He doesn't really believe it.
I've said before, all men do what they want to do. Everybody
does. We all do what we want to do. The Jews had said to the Lord
Jesus Christ in John 8, 39, they said, Abraham is our father.
They placed all of their hope in being able to trust their
lineage back to Abraham. They thought, you know, Abraham
and his boys and their boys and their boys. And here we are. We're direct descendants from
Abraham. And Jesus saith unto them, if
you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
Well, Paul had revealed in Romans 4.11 that Abraham is the father
of all them that believe. He was an example of what a believer
truly was. The Spirit of God gave Abraham
as an example of what a believer's life and attitude toward God
Yes. Abraham truly possessed a faith
by the grace of God that evidenced what Abraham really believed.
And Abraham, by the grace of God, through faith, he separated
himself. Now, Abraham was a sinner. All
men are sinners. But I'm telling you that God's
people, knowing what they are, knowing the presence of sin,
and they struggle with it, but they walk by faith. They believe
God, not by his own ability, but by the work and the will
that God Almighty has wrought within the people that He's called
out of darkness. Our Lord, when He was praying
in that high priestly prayer, John 17, He said this, John 17,
15, I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but
that thou shouldest keep them from the evil, from the power
of the evil in this world. God's people struggle. Dutch
people truly struggle where an unbeliever doesn't. They don't. Unbelievers don't struggle in
this world. Oh, I'm not talking about, you know, they don't have
problems. Believers and unbelievers all
have problems. Believers and unbelievers all get sick. Believers
and unbelievers all die. I mean, there's nothing that
a believer has got to go through that an unbeliever doesn't and
vice versa. But for the believer, he struggles. He struggles with the evil of
this world. He struggles with the evil in
himself. He sees it. He knows it. And
the Lord Jesus Christ was praying not that His Father would take
His people out of this world. We're in this world for the glory
of God, exhibiting the sufficiency of God's grace to keep us in
the midst of the evil of this world. We're here for the purpose
of Almighty God in the salvation of His elect. God keeps His people
in this world until He's ready to take them out. And when He's
ready to take them out, when they're ripe, mature, Perfected. That's the scriptural language
of it. He takes them. But here we are. Be not slothful. Abraham was
led to take the place of a stranger and pilgrim in this world. God
called him to do it. And the scripture says, verse
15 of Hebrews chapter 6, And so after he had patiently endured,
He obtained the promise after he had long spirited, patiently
endured. That's what it is. He didn't
lose heart. He didn't lose heart by the grace
of God. And there's not a believer in this room today, tonight,
that doesn't realize I am what I am by the grace of God. I'm
here by God's good pleasure. If I believe in Him tonight,
I believe in Him because God Almighty was pleased to keep
me, sustain me, patiently endure it. Oh, the mysterious providence
of God. Why is it that some endure to
the end and some don't? The grace of God. That's the
only reason. Nobody is going to pat themselves
on the back, standing before God, and claim any merit for
themselves. You think, oh boy, when he had
patiently endured. Listen to this. And he said,
Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest. and get thee into the land of
Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of
the mountains which I will tell thee of." You know, that was real. That
was real. We read that now and we look
back on that and we say, Boy, I'll tell you this, man, bless
the Lord. What a trial. What do you think
about Abraham? Abraham, after the slaughter
of the kings in Genesis 14, remember the king had come up to him. Here's another trial. The king
had come up to him and he said to Abraham in Genesis 14, verse
21, the king of Sodom said unto Abraham, Give me the persons. Take the goods to thyself. There's
no telling how much booty had been taken, the gold and silver,
the treasures. Oh man, what do you think they've
gotten? Somebody come up to you and say,
listen, I've got so-and-so. I'm going to do this. I'm going
to do that. Or you can do this. Or you can
make this. Or, boy, I'll tell you, there's
a lot to be made here if you can just, you know, what, at
the expense of doing what you believe is God's will for you. Abraham said, I'm not going to
do it. They had a squabble between Lot's
herdsmen and Abraham's herdsmen. And it got out of hand. Lot,
Abraham, they were family. And Abraham came to him and he
said, listen, we're brethren. This just can't be. I mean, this
thing right here is killing me. You take what you want. And Lot
set his eyes toward Sodom, and Abraham took the rest. When he
had patiently endured, he received the promise. Now, we're going
to proceed, but let's remember why God's people are faithful. Not that they're without the
presence of sin, but they're kept faithful as they walk in
this life by the power of God struggling against the body of
death that's within them. It's because of God's promise
to effectually work in His people and to present them faithful
in Christ to Himself in the end. It is God which worketh in you
both to will and do of His good pleasure. The attitude of humility,
that spirit of love, that endurance to the end, Almighty God working
in and through you. God's people are faithful, but
the power of their faithfulness is not of themselves. Abraham
and all of God's people left in this world for a certain amount
of time, kept by God's power, and in the end, God's people
will be received unto Himself, unto God Himself, faithful, faithful
to the end, enduring to the end by His power. So after He had
patiently endured, He obtained the promise. Now, let's look
at verses 16 to 20 for just a few minutes. The Apostle says, For
men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation
is to them an end of all strife. Now, men make a promise and they
swear or they declare or they make that promise by one that
is greater than themselves. That's what he said. For men
verily swear by the greater. You know, I don't know if they
still do it anymore. They used to when you went into
court, you know, they'd have a Bible there. You know, place
your hand on this Bible right here. Raise your right hand.
I do solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing
but the truth. So help me, God. You promise
that? Yes, I do. Well, what they were saying is
this. I'm swearing by one that's greater than I am. I'm making
a promise before Almighty God that what I'm about to tell you
is going to be the truth. So that oath, that pledge is
to confirm that all of the strife and the division and questions
is going to be ended on my testimony. What I'm about to tell you is
the truth. And after I tell you everything I know, I can't go
any farther with it. That's going to end all strife.
Men barely swear by the greater. And an oath for confirmation
is to them an end of all strife. There won't be any other questions.
If I'm the witness, I saw what happened, this is the way it
is, I'm going to tell you the truth. And we make that declaration. We swear by the Lord Himself.
And we declare that what we're saying is a pledge that it's
so. And there won't be any confusion. There shouldn't be any confusion
after this. Well, in the wonder of God's
grace and mercy to mankind, Almighty God condescended to employ the
method of an oath to settle the assurance of salvation and preservation
of His people to the end. Here is where it says, wherein,
verse 17, God willing more abundantly to show under the airs of promise
the immutability of His counsel confirmed it by an oath. And we understand men doing this.
I understand somebody putting their hand on the Bible. I promise
before God Almighty, this is what I'm going to tell you. God
willing more abundantly to show to us. Can you imagine the condescension
of God Almighty to employ this terminology? Remember, this whole
discourse is concerning the rest or the salvation that's wrought
by God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ rather than by the
works of the law. That's what Paul is talking about.
We're going to settle this issue right here. Men come and they
say, we're going to settle this issue, we're going to have a
a courtroom, we're going to have a testimony, we're going to have
a jury, and they're going to listen, we're going to listen
to all the evidence, and we're going to settle this thing, and
the judge is going to make a decision. It's going to be over with. The issue is, is salvation by
the law, or is salvation by the grace of God? That's the issue. That's what he's talking about
here. Wearing God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs
of promise the immutability, the unchangeableness of his counsel,
he confirmed it by an oath. God Almighty was going to set
forth a confirmation. He acted in a way that pledged
himself outwardly. He did it by an oath. And this
was his oath, the sending of his son. Now, Paul confirms the
explanation of what he just said when he says he confirmed it
by an oath. In verse 18, he says this. that
by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to
lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope that is set before us. Two unchangeable things
have been given by God Almighty to establish and to settle the
issue of salvation by the grace of God. Two immutable things. The first one was in verse 14
of this chapter, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and
multiplying I will multiply thee. Right here, there is the first
immutable thing that he talks about, God promised. I'm going to bless you. Genesis
22, 17. Here's my promise. I will do
it. He gave an announcement or a
pledge to his people to do them good. I'm going to send the Messiah. And here's the second immutable
thing. He did it. He gave an oath, a promise and
an oath. The oath was the confirmation. It was the end of the fulfillment. That's an amazing word. You know, when you think of it,
you think, okay, what's the difference in a promise and an oath? Promise,
oath. The oath is the fulfillment of
it. That's what it is. The oath is the actual establishment
of it. It's the accomplishment of what
He promised He was going to do. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son. And whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now, by those two immutable
things, we have a strong consolation, a sure comfort. For who? For all who have fled for refuge
to Christ Himself, to lay hold by faith upon the hope, the confidence
that is set before us. We have a strong consolation
and comfort. God Almighty has promised. God
Almighty has done. God Almighty has done that which
He promised He's going to do. We flee for refuge by coming
to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we do. And as I've
said before, what does it mean to come to Christ? It means to
forsake or to turn from every other false refuge. That's what
it is to come to Christ. Forsaking all other confidence. We have no confidence in any
but Him, by two immutable, unchangeable things in which it is impossible
for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have
fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the hope of glory that is set before us, which hope we have
as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast and which
entereth in into that within the veil. We have, which hope? We have. We possess Christ Himself. God's people possess Him. Regenerated
by the grace of God, we have Him. Christ in you. The hope, the assurance, the
confidence of glory I said a few weeks ago, I know
that. And I want to know it. I believe
that. And I want to believe that. I want the Spirit of God to teach
me that afresh. Assure my heart, which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul. I don't want to go anywhere. I
don't want to leave. I want to be kept by the power
of God through faith. I want this to be sure and steadfast
for me, Christ Himself, which entereth into that within the
veil. We have Him who has us stable. God's people. Have confidence in Him. I don't want to walk away. I don't want to. And I know that if I don't walk
away, I know that I can say this, He's anchored me. He kept me. I know if I have Him, it's because
He's always had me. I know if I don't leave, it's
because He wouldn't let me leave, thanks being to Him. And who
has me? He that has entered into that
within the veil. He's gone in to the very presence
of God for me. An Almighty God, the Father.
hears Him when He prays. Father, I pray, I pray You keep
them. Keep them from the evil of this
world. And I know that the Father hears
Him. I know that Almighty God is not
going to forsake His own. whether the forerunner, verse
20, is for us entered, even Jesus, made in high priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek, the forerunner, the one declaring
the success that has been obtained. The Lord Jesus Christ, our great
high priest, the anchor of our soul who has already entered
into the place of glory as our forerunner. And where He is,
we are in Him and shall be perfectly revealed one day. I know that. those from within our congregation
that have already entered into the very presence of God. And I see through a glass darkly.
And I know, but I just know in part. I see, but I see in part. And that which I see, I see with
eyes of faith But faith is so little. I know faith grows. I read in Scripture where the
Lord was asked to increase our faith. I know that we grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. And I've got just
a glimpse. But I know this, to be absent
from this body is to be present with the Lord. And I read these
words right here, and I know that we do have an anchor
of the soul. I know He's sure and steadfast. I know that He's
entered into that within the veil where the forerunner is
for us entered. Almighty God was made flesh,
and He was made flesh took on the form, the likeness of sinful
flesh. He was without sin, but in the
likeness of us, and lived for us, died for us,
rose for us, ascended for us, and now intercedes for us. Our high priest, after the order
of Melchizedek, the eternal priest, He said, in my Father's house
are many mansions. He said, if it wasn't so, I'd
have told you. And I think about that. He has prepared that which our
eyes And our mind cannot comprehend. But by faith, not by the works
of the law, but by faith, we rest in Him. God has set forth
two immutable things, and God cannot lie. He said, I'm sure
I'm going to show mercy to you. I will. And He did in sending
the Lord Jesus Christ, the anchor, the sustenance, the foundation
of our hope. And here He is in the very presence
of God interceding for us. He's in our very presence right
now. Two or three are gathered together in my name. I'm in the
midst of you. And He's within every believer. The life that is within you is
the life of Christ. It's the life of Christ. That's
why, that which is born of God sinneth not. It's the life of
God Himself residing within His people. And just for a few minutes
we just come together and just consider that, just for a few
minutes. And who knows? By the grace of God, the Spirit
of God may take that message and burn it within a sinner. Call him out of darkness. Comfort
him. Reassure him. His Word is not
going to return void. It's going to accomplish just
exactly what He purposed it to do. Oh, may He bless these words
to our heart tonight and cause us to truly rejoice in Him who
is altogether worthy. For Christ's sake and our good,
Amen.